Jon Stewart’s Book, Others Challenged At Wasilla’s Public Library

As the media tries to do the vetting job that John McCain’s camp didn’t, the City of Wasilla decided to release some information about Sarah Palin’s Bookgate controversy (and other matters) after being bombarded by emails and inquiries by troublesome elitist reporters. According to Office of the Mayor: “We have no records of any books being â€œbanned or censuredâ€ ever.” Wasilla has a policy where patrons are allowed to “challenge” books by complaining to the library director, but to date, none have been pulled. In 2005, America: A Citizenâ€™s Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart (they list him as “Steward” in the official PDF doc) was challenged but “remained on the shelves.” The thoroughly leftist guide, laid out in typical textbook fashion takes on the the many idiosyncrasies of American culture from the evangelicals to the mainstream media. Other books that were challenged but not removed include Angel Dust Blues by Todd Strasserâ€”which resulted in the creation of a “Young Adult” sectionâ€”Bumps in the Night by Harvey Allard and most recently The Abduction by Mette Newth in 2007.

However, the Anchorage Daily News is reporting that when Sarah Palin became mayor in 1996, she did make an inquiry to the Wasilla librarian about censoring books “should she be asked to do so.” The librarian fiercely resisted and was eventually sent a letter from Palin and told she was being let goâ€”although the “censorship issue was not mentioned as a reason for the firing.”

Right now the law says that if you are an online retailer without any presence in a state, you don’t have to charge taxes. In fact, the consumer who purchases from the site is responsible for declaring that money.